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VNA Mafia
| image = File:Corewars-map.gif | imagewidth = 300px | caption = | host = Unreality | link = VNA Mafia | size = 14 Players (Medium) | startdate = April 07, 2009 | winningfaction = Mutaters | roster = #, player #rossbeemer #O'mally #Fox #Einkil #seahorse #IDoNotExist #Joe's Student #Star_Tiger #JarZe #Lemonymelon #CherryLane (Angel) #Taliesin #Riranor #Surge | first = Taliesin | last = JarZe, CherryLane (Angel) | mvp = - | awards = - }} was a game designed and hosted by Unreality based on Core Wars It began on April 07, 2009 and ended in a Mutaters win in D7 (April 21st, 2009). Game Mechanics Rules Night and day of course are just phrases, there is no actual night and day. Rather everything takes place in CPU clock cycles called 'rounds'. However, due to the alternating nature of gameplay, the day/night terminology of Mafia has been adopted to describe the events occuring. During night (which begins the game), programs utilize different abilities ordained by their code. During the day, the programs have devised a democratic system of voting to determine the Mutaters among them by popular vote, realizing that the power of the majority is the best bet to have a fighting chance against the sneaky Mutaters... The basic rules described by the guide are taken to be canon, including no BTSC (unless you are an Imp or a Mutater), no PM repping, no ghostposting, no revealing information after death, etc. The situation is dire, and the fate of the Array is in your hands... you are the players of this dangerous game... some of you are the intelligence behind the sinister Mutaters, preparing your moves to eliminate the Programs that stand aganinst you... some of you are Programs, trying to stay alive and stop the Mutaters from infecting the system. Only one side can win. It's in your hands now. three more things: * the binary code in the topic description spells something ;D * there's a lot of Program roles that you might call "passive", that is, they don't have any active abilities in which they PM someone's name to me or anything. I've gotten a few PMs that I would call semi-incredulous that they don't have any sort of "active" ability, so I wanted to address this publically... the game was designed that way. Perhaps people are used to games where every role has tons of flashy active abilities, but this game is more subtle (and also realistically keeping with VNA) and balanced... I just want to say, don't underestimate a passive ability. In many ways, the passive abilities in this game are more powerful than the active ones. When used correctly, the passive ability can make a player very powerful - but the key (and the reason I like passive abilities for VNAM) is that it takes strategy and planning to make it work, not just sending in a name. That is, you have to be the active counterpart of the passive ability. Or you can sit back and be a player and let the passive ability work for you in the background - either way is a different but effective strategy. It's up to you biggrin.gif * good luck to everyone playing, and to both sides CLARIFICATIONS a few reminders and/or clarifications about the Phage (and also Scanner & Guzzler): * what you see in the role desc is what you get - that is, there's no penalty for a wrong Phage guess (but they only get 1 per night of course - like the Scanner and Guzzler, they learn the results after the night post is up) * the Phage's kill is blockable by the Reviver ONLY IF THE REVIVER PROTECTS THE VICTIM ON THE EXACT NIGHT OF THE VICTIM'S DEATH * if the Phage selects the Hopper and matches him/her correctly, they are told that the match failed just like they would be told if they had matched them incorrectly a note about the Hijacker: * I will take incidents with the Hijacker case-by-case, I know it can make for a tricky night post edit: another note on the Guzzler: they may change their identity multiple times if it suits them. If they become an Imp, they get BTSC with the other Imps, but only while the Guzzler is still an Imp edit2: the Hijacker mirrors actions back on the sender, that is, the action doesn't affect the Hijacker but rather they turn it around and use it on the enemy. In some cases this will give away the Hijacker anyway... for example, if the Scanner spies on the Hijacker, the Hijacker learns the Scanner's role and the Scanner never gets back any information... this would be a dead giveaway that they had found the Hijacker (and that the Hijacker also now knows the Scanner's role) edit3: this only applies for things that happen at night. For example, if someone votes for the Hijacker, the Hijacker doesn't have to vote for them smile.gif edit4: one thing the Hijacker can't reflect is the Phage kill... they are just like any other role when it comes to the Phage edit5: alright enough clarifications, it's time for the night post Role Description This is an intense, traditional-styled Mafia game set in the abstract, high-octane world of VNA. You need no prior knowledge of VNA to play this game - but just for background, VNA is a program-warzone game invented by me for Brainden a while ago (improved with various versions since then, currently it's on VNA 3.0) and based on the original CoreWars, though VNA is a lot different than CoreWars in many ways in many areas. VNA stands for 'Virtual Node Array', and refers to an array of 'nodes' or memory cores so to speak. Each node holds a line of programming (defaulted to a blank no-op command) and is executed by a 'pointer'. Players design their program warrior and put it in the 'ring' (the Virtual Node Array) and then sit back and watch them battle each other. In other words, VNA is a game in which the players are architects of warring programs that fight it out for supremacy in a cyber arena. Sound interesting? Links: VNA ~ VNA 2.0 ~ VNA 3.0 VNA Mafia is based on the archetypes of programs that emerge in VNA games - each general different type of VNA program can be mapped to a mafia role in this game, it's actually pretty interesting how smoothly it worked out. All of the following Program roles are actual program types I've used, fought against or seen used in VNA, which turned out to be quite the complex game from rather simple rules (and relatively simple programming language, VNA code). Again, no knowledge of the game VNA nor of the art of programming is necessary to play biggrin.gif This game follows the epic story of a virus invasion into the Virtual Node Array... the question is, can the Programs work together to rid this Mutater (as the viruses are called) menace, or will they fall to the sly Mutaters and their conquering aspirations? The answer to that question is in your hands. Introducing the players in this struggle for victory of the Array: 10 Programs and 4 Mutaters! The Programs (no BTSC except for the Imp Ring) There are ten basic types. Assume that there is 1 program of each type present in the VNA at this time, unless otherwise stated. * Replicators - mass produce themselves and swarm the Array, impossible to get rid of. The Replicator cannot be lynched, but they can be killed by other methods * Hoppers - jump around the VNA for security purposes. The best Hoppers even delete their previous code trail as they move across the matrix. Because of the Hoppers' elusiveness, the Hopper cannot be found at night for any night action, including the Mutater overwrite * Bombers - the most basic program type, Bombers launch memory errors and more complex traps across the VNA, hoping to kill their enemies' processes. The Bomber can go for one player each night in an attempt to strike in their core weak spots and kill them * Imps - rather pointless as a single entity, Imps work better in groups called 'Imp Rings' which are launched as a side-project by a more complicated parent program. Not seen in VNA as much as CoreWars, but with the new process rules in VNA 3.0 they're bound to crop up eventually. Unlike other program types, there are two Imps in the VNA right now, constituting an Imp Ring - the two Imps have no powers other than BTSC with each other * Guzzlers - these programs just kind of sit there, hiding and lurking and using up resources... however if a higher process were to deem it necessary, the Guzzler could be rewritten and sent into action as something else. The Guzzler in the Array now is rather elaborate for a Guzzler and has the necessary mechanisms to change its own code to mimic another type of program. The Guzzler can do this once it knows for sure the identity of a fellow Program, dead or alive - each night the Guzzler may PM a name+program matchup to the host (the player can be dead), and if correct, the Guzzler can change its code to imitate that program, and come out of stasis * Hijackers - these programs, more effective in VNA 2.0 but not as feasible in 3.0, run through the nodes until they hit code from the enemy and run it themselves, "hijacking" the code and using it against the enemy. For this reason, any night action used on the Hijacker will be mirrored back on the sender of the action * Scanners - complicated but skillful. One of the more advanced steps in program evolution, scanners use carefully constructed counting and checking mechanisms to ruthlessly hunt down the enemy's code in the VNA. Once they've found the enemy, the Scanner either morphs into a Bomber, passes the info onto a Bomber, or more commonly switches gears into a "bombing" mode within the same process. However, during the initial Mutater strike, the Scanner was cut off and has no way of getting its info out by BTSC methods. At night, the Scanner can learn the program identity of any player. * Assemblers - these high-up parent processes build smaller units to go out and perform tasks. For this reason, the Assembler has extra vote power (x2 to be specific). For the first day, the Assembler can choose to have any whole number vote power from x1 to x4, after that they have x2 * Revivers - continually overwrite code of a specific program or process that it's been attached to, so if the code is corrupted by a bomb/trap or memory overwrite of some sort, the Reviver will restore the correct code before the attacked program executes the faulty code. Each night, the Reviver picks a new player to safeguard, protecting them from termination that night. Due to recursion issues, the Reviver is not complex enough to protect its own code, but there are no other restrictions The Mutaters (BTSC) The Mutaters are deadly viruses with deadly intentions, and they've infected the VNA! The programs must work together to obliterate them from the system... * The Evolver - head virus, leads group, sends in kills, etc. Appears as an Imp if scanned * The Corruptor - corrupts VNA code, causing information loss, and timing out memory processes - the Corruptor can nullify the actions of one player each night * The Phage - can get inside a host program's code and multiply itself until the Phage bursts out and the host dies, 2 nights later. The Phage can't do anything on the intermediate night (the night after infection and before bursting) but the Phage CAN pick a new target the same night that their current host will die. In order to gain access to a program's code, the Phage must know the code - and that means they must know what exact program type the player is (ie, match name+role) * The Encryption - this mysterious virus's source code is encrypted and invisible - it could be anything The Mutaters also have a nightkill of course, in which they attempt to wipe the memory of a program to destroy it Host's Summary Game Idea and Expectations Note, game thread was titled: *VNA Mafia, 0100100001101001 (JUST FINISHED!!!) The binary 1001000 1101001 translates to 72 and 105, which is the code for H and i, Hi, a secret code for fun the host put in the game title. Game ---- Special commendations Host disappointments Alternate endings Winning Faction *Fox - Phage *IDNE - Encryption *JarZe - Evolver *CL/Angel - Corruptor Day and Night Posts End of Game Roster #rossbeemer - Imp - Lynched D7 #O'mally - Hijacker - Lynched D5 #Fox - Phage - Killed N3 #Einkil - Reviver - Killed N7 #seahorse - Imp - Killed N3 #IDNE - Encryption - Lynched D6 #JS - Scanner - Killed N6 #ST - Bomber - Lynched D2 #JarZe - Evolver #Lemonymelon - Replicator #CL/Angel - Corruptor #Taliesin - Assembler - Killed N1 #Riranor - Hopper #Surge - Guzzler - Killed N5 Actions __NOWYSIWYG__ Category:Era 3 Category:Games